Schedule HX on antibiotics a concern: Chemists

The government's recent move to amend the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules 1945 and insert Schedule HX on the misuse of antibiotics would only hit the availability of antibiotics for 65 per cent of rural and urban population, J S Shinde, president, All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggist (AIOCD), has said.

In a memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pratibha Patil, health minister Gulam Nabi Azad and the Drug Controller General of India, Shinde said, “We appreciate the move and support the government in curbing the misuse of antibiotics and other drugs. While Schedule HX is formulated to curb the misuse of antibiotics in view of the news of 'super bug', the government sidelined the main cause and has found a scapegoat---chemists.” The implication of Schedule HX is a cause of concern, he said.

Schedule HX has two parts: Part A, with 16 antibiotics drugs, should be sold directly by drug manufacturers to tertiary care hospitals. Part B, with 74 drugs and formulations, can be sold by chemists on the prescription of registered medical practitioners and a copy of the prescription would be kept by the chemist for two years. Shinde said while preparing the notification, the government did not take into account a number of important issues like the availability of registered medical practitioners in rural and micro rural areas, the financial limitations of the poor, the mass violation of Schedule K, the regular availability of medicines in government hospitals and the availability of health services that comply with the requirements. Steps like prescribing guidelines and public awareness were also neglected before the notification was announced, he said.

AIOCD also said the introduction of the new Schedule HX would adversely impact health services, particularly in rural areas.